


closer than i've ever been before

by hadrons_collide



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Hair Braiding, Implied Sexual Content, Sharing a Bed, mentioned Vaxleth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-09
Updated: 2016-09-26
Packaged: 2018-07-22 12:01:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7438021
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hadrons_collide/pseuds/hadrons_collide
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Vex brushes her hair back and gives him a smile. “Did you need me for something, Percy?” Her thoughts shift to his plans for her broom and she smiles wider. “Or did you need my broom?”</p><p>“Not tonight, I’m afraid,” he says, and he looks almost genuinely disappointed he won’t be doing any tinkering. “I actually just needed somewhere to sleep, as your brother has… kicked me out for the night.”</p><p>Perc'ahlia + very tropey bed-sharing and nightmare comforting and cuddling. And some sexy dreams.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> What a good week to be overcome with Perc'ahlia feels! The little thought of "Percy gets sexiled and has to share a bed with Vex" completely blew up on me into the longest thing I've written in a year. Split into two parts because I got to a stopping point and I need accountability to actually finish this! This is set during Vox Machina's post-Umbrasyl stay in Westruun and isn't too spoiler-y just yet, but it will probably be more spoiler-y (and possibly more explicit???? maybe???) in the second part. Title from "Say It To Me Now" from the Once soundtrack, which is Laura's "for Percy" song on the Vex playlist, and that entire soundtrack is Perc'ahlia.

Vex backs up until she’s pressed against the workbench, watching with bated breath as Percy slowly pulls his gloves off. “What was that, Vex’ahlia?” he asks, voice low and gravelly.

Her lips curl into a smirk. “I said, come over here, and I’ll give you something to tinker with.”

Percy’s across the room in an instant, mouth hot against Vex’s as he kisses her. She moans when he pushes her leggings down, moans even louder when she feels him hard against her thigh. Percy mouths at her neck, dragging his teeth lightly over the skin, and that’s-

That’s enough to wake Vex up, hair plastered against her forehead with sweat, thighs pressed tight together. She glances over at Keyleth, sprawled out over most of the bed they share in the small Westruun house they’ve been crashing in. Luckily, Keyleth is a heavy sleeper, and she just shifts further away from Vex with a loud snore.

Vex rolls over, face down onto her pillow, and mutters “shit.” It’s not the first time she’s dreamed of Percy, but normally she’s just watching him work, talking about her broom or new arrows she wants him to make. It’s never been anything quite so… erotic.

(At least it’s better than the dreams of when she died. They’re always the same- watching it as an outsider, probably her brain subconsciously trying to piece together the events in the tomb. Percy touching the armor, Kash starting the ritual, Vax throwing himself on her, the spectral form of the Raven Queen lurking in the background. Vex would rather face a thousand sex dreams about everyone in Vox Machina than another rendition of her own death.)

Nevertheless, Vex is definitely intrigued. There’s always been a spark of something between her and Percy- hell, she’s kissed him more than she’s kissed anyone else recently. Maybe this is the sign she’d almost been waiting for to kick start things between them. Vex rolls back over, not even trying to quell the heat between her legs as sleep takes her again.

 

She honestly expects it to be a bit weirder when she sees Percy the next morning. Grog’s somehow rustled up a few breakfast chickens- because what else would they eat for breakfast, now that they’ve grown so accustomed to Scanlan’s mansion- and when Percy tosses her a leg she catches it deftly. “Thanks darling,” she says with a smile, like absolutely nothing had happened, like she hadn’t made out with him in her dreams just a few hours earlier.

Vex tries to watch Percy’s reaction, tries to use her insight to maybe gauge his interest in her past the role of “someone I make cool arrows for,” but she can’t. It was so much easier when there was smoke billowing out from his coat when he was angry or upset – not that she misses it, or anything, but it was a good way to get a read on Percy’s emotional state.

 

There’s a knock on her door that night, when she’s in the middle of brushing grass out of her hair after a long day keeping watch outside the town. “You don’t have to knock, Keyleth, it’s your room, too,” she shouts at the door. Then Vex pauses, wonders if maybe she locked it out of habit, and goes to open the door. “Sorry, darling, I just-“

The door swings open and she finds Percy on the other side, hand in the air as if about to knock again. “Oh, Percy!” she exclaims. “I wasn’t expecting you.”

“Yes, well… apparently not,” Percy says, taking in Vex’s appearance. He quickly averts his gaze and Vex realizes how she must look- she’s wearing a faded white shirt that she probably stole from her brother at some point, and it’s just long enough that it covers her underwear, but that’s all she’s wearing. 

Vex brushes her hair back and gives him a smile. “Did you need me for something, Percy?” Her thoughts shift to his plans for her broom and she smiles wider. “Or did you need my broom?”

“Not tonight, I’m afraid,” he says, and he looks almost genuinely disappointed he won’t be doing any tinkering. “I actually just needed somewhere to sleep, as your brother has… kicked me out for the night.”

Vex furrows her brow. “Kicked you out? Do you want me to punch him? He probably deserves it for something or other.”

Percy chuckles. “No, nothing like that. He said he needed to talk to Keyleth and asked if I didn’t mind finding somewhere else to sleep tonight.”

“Oh.” Vex nods as Keyleth’s absence in their room suddenly clicks. “You didn’t tell him you were planning on sleeping in my bed, did you?”

“No, no, he has far too much on his mind already. And I can just sleep on the floor, really, it’s fine.”

Gods, he can be so damn proper sometimes. “Percival,” Vex says, putting a hand on his shoulder. “You have so many people to help tomorrow. You can’t afford to be tired. You’ll sleep on the bed with me.”

Percy gives her a defeated yet gracious smile and lets her pull him into the room. “Yes, dear.”

 

Because Percy is Percy, he just stands awkwardly by the bed. Vex laughs to herself and sits on one side of the bed, finishing brushing her hair out. “So, do you think they’re just talking? My brother and Keyleth, I mean.”

“Well, I hope they do actually talk,” Percy says. “No one does tortured and brooding quite like Vax, but I think they’ve been dancing around this that they need to have an actual conversation about it.”

“I don’t know, Percy,” Vex says, sweeping her hair over one shoulder and braiding it for the night. “I think you do tortured and brooding pretty well. Are you gonna sleep in that?” she asks, nodding at him, almost fully dressed.

“I, uh,” he stammers, a light blush creeping into his cheeks. “I didn’t really think to bring my long johns, and I’m not going back, so- I guess I should just…”

Vex smirks as he awkwardly starts taking off a couple layers. “I can look away if you want, darling.”

“What? That, uh, I mean…” He nearly trips taking his pants off, and Vex can’t help but laugh. It’s so great to think that the same Percy who yelled out “your soul is forfeit,” shot down dragons and vampires, and threatened Craven Edge is the same man in front of her now. “I’m glad you find this all very amusing.”

“It is,” Vex says, still smiling. 

Percy gives her a faint smile back, down to an undershirt and underwear. He gets into the opposite side of the bed from Vex, curling up as close to the edge as possible under the covers. “Good night, Vex’ahlia,” he says, setting his glasses on the table next to the bed.

Vex climbs under the covers on her side of the bed- not as purposely far away as Percy, because that’s just ridiculous, but she gives him his space. “Sweet dreams, Percy.”

 

Vex finds out very quickly that Percy does not, in fact, have sweet dreams. She wakes up in the middle of the night and finds that both she and Percy have gravitated towards each other to the center of the bed- she also finds Percy covered in sweat and shouting at the darkness, eyes squeezed shut.

“Percy!” She sits up and reaches for him, torn between shaking him awake and slapping him awake. “Percy, it’s me, it’s Vex, wake up darling!” Vex smoothes one hand over his cheek, reaching for his shoulder with the other to jostle him a bit. “It’s just a dream, Percy, wake up.”

His eyes flutter open slowly, straining to look at her in the darkness. “Vex?” She nods and he sits up, panic setting into his face. “Oh, gods, I’m so sorry, I forgot you were here-“

Vex gives him a reassuring smile, smoothing out his hair where sleep had messed it up. “It’s all right, Percy, really. Everyone has bad dreams.”

He smiles weakly. “Would you believe me if I told you that wasn’t the worst by far?”

“Oh, Percy…”

“Don’t worry about me, Vex. I’ve been dealing with this for five years, I’ll be fine.”

He doesn’t look fine, though, and Vex gives him another smile. “Yes, well, now you have me. Now, lay back down, darling.” Percy gives her a confused look, but Vex must have a determined look in her eyes because he does as she says. She shifts him until he’s on his side, facing away from her, and Vex drapes herself over him, until she’s flush against his back. “Relax, calm down a bit, and then we’ll sleep like this.”

She feels Percy nod as she rests her head against the back of his neck, feels his breathing slow down to a normal pace. “You certainly know what you’re doing.”

Vex reaches for Percy’s hand lying in front of him and starts tracing patterns into it with her thumb. “When- after mother-“ She stops moving for a second, composes herself, and continues. “Vax and I did this a lot. I’ve been on both ends, and it helps. You’ll sleep better, I promise.”

Percy’s quiet for a moment. “Thank you, Vex.”

She kisses his cheek before settling back against him. “Any time, Percy. Now go to sleep.”

 

When Vex wakes, they’ve shifted slightly again. She’s still curled into Percy, arms wrapped around him like an octopus, but he’s shifted to his back and her head’s on his chest. Percy’s already awake with his glasses on, smiling down at her when she catches his eye.

“Good morning. Sorry, I didn’t want to wake you-“

Vex takes in his awakened state and gives him a suspicious look. “You slept, right? You didn’t just stay up all night?”

Percy smiles. “Don’t worry, I slept. Better than I have in a long time, actually.”

“Good.” Vex smiles back at him and snuggles back into his chest. Percy’s body is warm against hers, and despite the less than pure thoughts she’s had about him recently, it’s nice just being like this- two friends sharing a bed, taking comfort in just the pure presence of the other person. “Is it breakfast chicken time, or can we stay here a few more minutes?”

He looks down at her, eyes warm. “A few more minutes won’t hurt.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I know, this took forever. Cons and real d&d and video games got in the way, as always, but I figured we could all use a fluffy pick-me-up after last week, so here we are.

When Vex hears a knock on her door the next night, she’s not surprised. Percy’s already in his long johns outside her door, and she has to stifle a laugh at the thought of the normally pristine and proper Percy walking across the house in his pajamas. “Back again?” She asks with a smile.

Percy matches her smile. “If you’ll have me, of course. Though I’d probably rather sleep in the hallway than share a bed with Grog.” Vex laughs and pulls him into her room. 

When she wakes in the morning, pressed warmly against Percy’s back, the sun is shining through the window and Percy’s fingers are laced through hers. Neither of them had woken up during the night, and when Vex glances over at Percy, he’s still asleep.

“Morning,” she says softly, squeezing his hand in hers. Vex watches Percy’s eyes flutter open, watches him turn his head and squint at her, like he’s trying to remember where he is, and she gives him a smile. 

He fumbles on the side of the bed for his glasses, and when he finally puts them on, he looks at her again. “Okay, so it wasn’t just my terrible eyesight. You are in fact just as lovely first thing in the morning as you are the rest of the day.”

Vex feels the color rising in her cheeks, as it normally does when Percy gives his brutally honest compliments. She tries to brush part of his hair down where it’s sticking up, fails, and giggles. “Can’t exactly say the same for you, I’m afraid. Do you fix this with magic?” she says, still attempting to flatten it out.

Percy laughs. “Something like that, yes.” He runs a hand through his hair, brushing the tips of his fingers against Vex’s, and her breath catches in her chest. They’d been holding hands all through the night, pressed tight against each other in the bed, but somehow that little conscious touch was enough to send her heart racing.

“We should probably get to breakfast,” Vex says finally, pulling her hand away.

Percy nods. “Yes, yes, of course. Breakfast.”

 

Vax walks in step her on their way out of the city later. “Don’t think I don’t know where Percival’s been sleeping,” he says, leaning into her ear.

She jumps, more preoccupied with watching Trinket run ahead in the fields. “Well, yeah,” she says. “I mean, where else would he sleep after you kicked him out for your girlfriend?” Vax narrows his eyes and she smirks. “If you want to talk about this, you’re going to have to talk about Keyleth.”

Vax shrugs. “I told you, talk to her.”

“Well, last time I tried that, she was about as forthcoming as you.” Vex turns her attention back to Trinket and they walk in silence for a few minutes.

“I just- be careful, Vex’ahlia,” Vax says finally.

“It’s just Percy,” she replies. “And I think Orthax is gone, so it really is just Percy now.”

Vax sighs and turns to her, hands on her shoulders. “He killed you in that tomb. You were dead, and it was his fault.”

She flashes Vax a sad smile, the one she always uses when she talks about her not-really-death. “Well then, he’s already done the worst he could possibly do to me. So there’s nothing for you to be afraid of.”

“There’s plenty to be afraid of,” Vax says simply before walking away.

 

Percy follows Vex back to her room after dinner- there’s not even a question of whether or not he’s going to come or not tonight. They just continue their conversation as they walk, as they enter the room, as Vex strips down into her nightshirt. Percy still coughs and turns his head the other way politely, but he still continues telling Vex all about the improvements they made to the bunker today.

“And we’re almost finished, probably another day or so at most,” he says, watching Vex brush out her hair. “Probably just enough time for Scanlan and Pike to make it back, and then we can return to Whitestone.”

“Yes, it has been a while. Cassandra would have sent word if something went wrong, don’t you think?”

He nods. “Oh, undoubtedly. Did you-” 

Vex looks up, sees Percy watching her, and gives him a smile. “Did I what, Percy?” 

“Did you want me to do that for you?” He gestures at her hair. “I mean, since I’m here and all.”

Her eyes widen. “You can braid hair?”

Percy shrugs. “I had three sisters. I learned. If you don’t want me to, that’s fine, I just-“

“No, it’s… that would be nice.” It’s been ages since anyone but Vax braided it- Pike had fixed it once, braided it up into a beautiful bun for a fancy dinner in Emon, but this is different, because it’s Percy.

He sits next to her and brushes her hair off to that side, separating it into three parts and starting to braid. Vex sneaks a look at Percy out of the corner of her eye, and his face is just as intense as it is when he’s fixing his gun or building her trick arrows. She giggles and Percy scoffs. “If you’re just going to make fun of me, I’ll stop.”

Vex starts to shake her head and Percy tugs on her hair. “Fine,” she says, relaxing as Percy goes back to work. It doesn’t take him long, but every so often his fingers brush across her neck to bring in a loose strand of hair and Vex feels a shiver go up her spine.

It’s just- it’s so intimate, Percy’s hands on her like this. She’s had lingering thoughts about those hands the last couple of days, when her mind has had time to wander. Vex wonders how his hands would feel on her, how his fingers would feel-

“Vex,” Percy says, breaking her out of her thoughts. “Did you hear me?”

“Sorry, darling, I was thinking,” Vex says, very careful to not say what she was thinking about. “What were you saying?”

“You said Syngorn was in the Feywild now, where the bow is. Do you think your father would be interested in helping us? Either with the Conclave or the Vestiges?”

Vex can’t help but smile a little at the irony of that. Even a mention of her father was a complete mood killer. “Will he help me and Vax? Probably not. Will he help the world as a whole?” She shrugs as much as she thinks she can without Percy fussing over messing up her hair. “Probably, but he’s an asshole, so who really knows?”

“Well, it’s an option, at least.” She feels Percy’s hands slow in her hair before he ties off the braid. “There, I don’t think that looks too terrible.”

She pulls the braid in front of her shoulder, inspecting Percy’s work. She’s obviously done better herself, and it’s very basic, nothing fancy or intricate, but it’s very neatly done, with hardly any loose ends sticking out. 

“It’s beautiful, Percy. Thank you, darling,” Vex says, turning her head to give Percy a quick kiss on the cheek. “It definitely looks a lot neater than when Vax does it. He’s good with his hands, but he’s not near as patient as you.”

Vex can’t quite read the look on Percy’s face. “Yes, I’ve had a lot of practice waiting,” he says. She’s not sure what he really means by that- he waited five years for his revenge on the Briarwoods, but Vex can’t help but think he means something else.

“If you say so,” Vex says. “But sometimes, it’s better to just go for things you want, Percy.”

He looks at her for a moment, and Vex thinks he’s going to say something, thinks he’s maybe finally going to make a move, but instead he just shakes his head. “Good night, Vex’ahlia,” he says eventually, slipping under the covers and turning away from her.

“Good night, darling,” she says, settling in on her own side. “Did you still want me to…” Vex pauses, reaching towards Percy.

“Oh, um. Yes, actually, if it’s not…”

Vex smiles and drapes her arm over him, pulling him in close. “Of course. Sleep tight, Percy.”

She dreams of Percy again- and this time, it’s different. Vex knows how his body feels pressed against hers, knows the way his fingers feel on her skin, and everything about the dream is in vivid detail and color.

“Oh, Percy,” she sighs as he peels her clothes off, hands warm against her skin. Vex gasps as he kisses behind her ear, murmuring how badly he wants her. He kisses down her body, lips trailing down her stomach, her hips, her thighs.

“You don’t know how much I’ve wanted this, Vex’ahlia.” He pushes her legs apart and Vex moans his name. “Vex,” he says, voice heavy with need. “Vex!” he says again, and this time she feels someone shaking her. “VEX!”

She jolts awake to find the real Percy staring down at her. “Vex, are you all right?”

Vex tries to shake off the dream, lifting herself off Percy where she’s draped over him. “I’m fine,” she says, trying to settle down her breathing. 

“Are you sure?” Percy asks, and there’s almost a hint of amusement in his voice. “I’m supposed to be the one with bad dreams, but you were… calling out for me…”

She blushes, knowing Percy probably can’t see her in the darkness. “That was out loud?” He nods and Vex blushes deeper. “Sorry, darling, I didn’t mean to wake you. But just know that it wasn’t a bad dream, okay?”

Percy frowns. “Not a bad dream?”

Vex smiles and curls into Percy, the heat between her legs still pulsing through her. “No. A very, very good dream.” She can feel Percy’s heart racing as she leans up and kisses him.

She hadn’t meant it to be a big thing- she’s running on adrenaline and arousal right now, and honestly she just wanted to kiss Percy. Vex hadn’t expected him to kiss her back, hadn’t expected him to slide a hand behind her neck and pull her in close. Everything about her dreams comes screaming back to her- the feeling of his hands, the weight of her body on his, and Vex moans against his lips.

Percy’s breath catches in his throat and he shifts underneath her, pulling back a little. “We probably shouldn’t.”

“Why not? Give me one good reason.”

He lets out half a laugh. “Vax will kill me.”

She shrugs. “Honestly, there’s always a chance of that. I think you’re just looking for excuses.” Vex leans over him and runs a hand through Percy’s hair, ruffling it up a bit. “If you want to stop, I can stop. But I don’t think you want me to, do you?”

Percy takes a deep breath and shakes his head. “No, I don’t want you to stop. I’ve wanted you- for quite a while, now, actually.” 

Vex smiles and kisses him again, letting her hands roam over Percy’s chest. His hands slide up her arms as he opens his mouth under hers, kissing her deeply. The pads of his fingers are calloused from his tinkering, and Vex can’t help but shiver at his touch.

“This is good, right?” he asks as she unbuttons his shirt and pushes it off.

“Absolutely, Percy. Perfect.” She lets her hips rock against his and smiles when she hears Percy gasp. “That’s good, Percy. You can want this, darling, it’s fine.”

“Mmm, you’re right.” Percy grabs Vex’s hips, pulling her fully on top of him. His hands slide up under her shirt against her stomach and Vex’s grin widens.

“Here, let me help with that.” She reaches for the hem of her shirt and goes to pull it over her head, but Percy holds up a hand to stop her.

“Vex, wait, stop-“

She lets her hands fall to her side and looks down at Percy, concerned. “That’s fine, darling, if this is too much, because we can-“

“No, no, just…” Percy reaches for the bedside table, hand scrabbling across the top until he finds his glasses. He grins when he puts them on. “If I can’t see you, there’s no point in any of this.”

Vex smirks. “And you like what you see?” she asks, sitting back to pull her shirt over her head and off, leaving herself completely naked save her underwear.

Percy’s eyes widen and Vex swears he stops breathing for a minute. “Gods, yes,” he sighs, sitting up quickly to kiss her again.

 

She wakes up stretched across Percy, head resting on his chest. When Vex glances up, Percy’s still asleep. The light shining in from the window reflects off his hair, making it shimmer in the low light, and Vex can’t help but smile. “Percy?” she murmurs, and his eyes flutter open.

“Good morning,” he says, voice still a little groggy. “I had the most interesting dream.”

Vex smirks, reaching up to stroke his cheek. “I think we must have had the same dream, darling. It was lovely.”

Percy glances from Vex to the door. “Can we stay here all day? I’m dreading looking everyone else in the face. We were rather loud, I think.”

She giggles. “Loud just means it was good!” Vex pauses and looks up at Percy. “Wait a minute. Are you embarrassed by me?”

“What? No, it’s just…” He reaches for Vex’s braid where it rests on her shoulder, admiring his handiwork rather than looking Vex in the eye. “I’m sure you know how to handle a situation like this- not to imply that you’re in any way less for- I mean-” Percy blushes. “Last night was the first time I’ve ever… been with anyone. And it was as lovely and wonderful as you are, but I’m not particularly sure what happens next.”

Vex turns his face towards her own, running her thumb over the stubble growing in along his chin. “Well, darling, that’s entirely up to you. We can call this a one-time thing and move on, but… I know I’d like to do this again.”

Percy leans in, resting his forehead on her own. “I’d like that as well. You’ve always been my favorite for a reason- my heart was always yours.” Vex smiles at how bluntly honest he is, even though it’s exactly what she wanted to hear. “But… can we stay here a while longer?”

Vex grins and rolls onto her back, pulling Percy on top of her. “Darling, now that I know I have so many things to teach you? We can stay here as long as you want.”

He leans down to kiss her. “Sounds perfect.”

**Author's Note:**

> feel free to yell at me on [tumblr](http://orlaisbians.tumblr.com) to finish this (or just yell at me about critrole feelings because I have a lot of those)


End file.
